The arrival of warmer, drier weather this month will benefit cereal crops in the European Union that endured a damp, cold end to winter and help sowing of maize that is getting under way, analyst firm Strategie Grains said on Thursday. Late cold snaps and heavy rain have raised question marks about harvest prospects in parts of the EU including France and the Baltic states, although few winter losses have been reported, it said in a monthly cereal crop report.
"Spring weather finally arrived in the EU in early April, with a significant temperature lift. This should improve growing conditions for the winter cereals across most of Europe," Strategie Grains said. However, soggy conditions during winter meant the roots of cereal plants were less well developed than usual, which could impair crop growth if soils were to dry out during the current warm spell, it added.
The chilly, wet weather of the previous two months had caused significant delays to spring barley sowing, particularly in Britain and France, with French farmers unable to carry out all intended sowings, Strategie Grains said. But later-sown maize was set to benefit from the mild, drier conditions as sowing of the feed grain starts in southern Europe, it said. Strategie Grains made minor adjustments to its monthly forecasts for 2018 cereal production in the EU.
It trimmed its outlook for soft wheat output by 100,000 tonnes to 141.0 million tonnes, down 1 percent from last year. Projected barley production was also reduced slightly, by 200,000 tonnes to 61.8 million, while expected grain maize output was increased by the same amount, to 60.7 million tonnes.